These Sunoco Hard Chargers Boogied Through the ’24 Runoffs Fields

In road racing, sometimes the “drive of the race” doesn’t result in a podium finish. In fact, it might not even put the racer into the top 10, but the drive was, nonetheless, impressive. So impressive that perhaps these accomplishments should be celebrated. Turns out, at the SCCA® National Championship Runoffs®, there is an award for exactly that.

The 2024 SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Sunoco was the capstone to this racing season’s Summit Racing Equipment SCCA Road Racing Program. The best of the best came from all corners of the country (and in some cases, beyond) to do battle at Road America’s 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit. For those drivers who picked up the most positions in their class, they earned the distinction of being that race’s Sunoco Hard Charger.

While we said that not all of these come-from-behind drives resulted in a podium finish, some did. Case in point, Stewart Black drove his B-Spec Chevrolet Sonic from seventh on the grid to a second-place finish. Similarly, Sebastian Mateo Naranjo accomplished a similar feat in his Formula F Mygale SJ14. Austin Bradshaw also finished second, but he started the E Production race in fourth in his Mazda RX-7. Meanwhile, George Cichon raced his GT-3-class Mazda RX-7 from 11^th to finish third.

Like we said, though, some of the most incredible drives don’t land on the podium. Take, for instance, Mike Gnadt and William Styczynski, who both picked up 10 positions during their races. Gnadt, in F Production, started 21^st and finished 11^th, while Styczynski ran from 25^th to 15^th in Formula Vee®.

Then there was Charlie Campbell in Spec Miata, who started 47^th and finished 25^th. That, folks, is an advancement of 22 positions in just 14 laps. But this year’s record has to go to Spec Racer® Ford Gen3 racer Wade White who passed 24 drivers on his way from his 55^th-place grid position to his 31^st-place finish.

And That’s Not All

Following is the full list of Sunoco Hard Charger award winners from the 2024 National Championship Runoffs presented by Sunoco, listed by class, driver, car, starting position, and finishing position.

American Sedan®: Tim White, Ford Mustang, started 13^th, finished 7^th
B-Spec: Stewart Black, Chevrolet Sonic, started 7^th, finished 2^nd
E Production: Austin Bradshaw, Mazda RX-7, started 4^th, finished 2^nd
F Production: Mike Gnadt, MG Midget, started 21^st, finisher 11^th
H Production: Joe Camilleri, Volkswagen Scirocco, started 17^th, finished 11^th
Formula 600: Steven Jondal, Red Devil Rotax, started 17^th, finished 8^th
Formula Atlantic®: R. Bruce Hamilton, Swift 014a Mazda, started 8^th, finished 5^th
Formula Continental®: Douglas Rocco, Van Diemen DP08, started 9^th, finished 6^th
Formula Enterprises®2: Sam Harrington, SCCA Enterprises FE2, started 14^th, finished 5^th
Formula F: Sebastian Mateo Naranjo, Mygale SJ14 Honda, started 7^th, finished 2^nd
Formula Vee®: William Styczynski, Vortech, started 25^th, finished 15^th
GT-1: Rocky Elli, Chevrolet Corvette, started 8^th, finished 4^th
GT-2: A. Sterling Cole, Mazda RX-7, started17th, finished 10^th
GT-3: George Cichon, Mazda RX-7, started 11^th, finished 3^rd
GT-Lite: Noel Hayward, MG Midget, started 13^th, finished 9^th
Spec Miata: Charlie Campbell, Mazda Miata, started 47^th, finished 25^th
Spec MX-5: Michael Borden, Mazda MX-5, started 13^th, finished 5^th
Spec Racer® Ford Gen3: Wade White, SCCA Enterprises SRF3, started 55^th, finished 31^st
Prototype 1: Tyler Thielmann, Elan DP-02 Mazda, started 11^th, finished 6^th
Prototype 2: Lucian Pancea, Stohr WF1 Kawasaki, started 8^th, finished 2^nd
Super Touring® Lite: Dan Harding, Mazda Miata, started 16^th, finished 10^th
Super Touring® Under: Edwin Soto-Quinones, Porsche Boxster S, stared 17^th, finished 12^th
Touring 1: Tony Ave, Mercedes Benz AMG GT4, started 3^rd, finished 2^nd
Touring 2: Mark Boden, Porsche 911/997, started 5^th, finished 3^rd
Touring 3: Derek Wagner, BMW Spec E46, started 13^th, finished 10^th
Touring 4: Dirk Straussfeld, Mazda RX-8, started 12^th, finished 7^th